Black Dawn
by Cat'sEyeJewel
Summary: Alternate universe! Brook from the Tribe was once a kittypet. She turns from soft kittypet to tough Tribe preyhunter, and bears the elements the best she can.
1. Tanya's Longing

**Alternate universe! This is about Brook and her journey to the Tribe. She is Tanya. Enjoy!**

Tanya sighed and padded forwards. She was always so _bored_. Even if her housefolk really did play with her, she never got the so-called thrill of chasing a mouse. According to her littermate, Maggie, mice tasted delicious. So did chaffinches. Tanya was so jealous that Maggie was allowed out. The only reason they wouldn't let _her_ out was because she hadn't been taken to the vet. MAGGIE could catch squirrels (although Tanya doubted she'd ever catch another one). MAGGIE could drink from fresh, rainwater puddles. (The water in her water bowl was always metallic and bitter-tasting) MAGGIE could- Oh, never mind. She'd just make herself more unhappy.

A thought crossed her mind. Maybe, if she snuck out while her housefolk came in from a stroll, she could slip out and hide, and hunt prey. Her sleek, grayish-brown pelt would help to hide her beneath and behind boulders and shrubs. There were no trees up here in the mountains. Yes. She would escape!



Tanya scolded herself. Her housefolk had opened the door many times, but she hadn't the heart to slip out. It was her kindness that did it. Her housefolk loved her. She loved them. Tanya was sure she could hunt, she had the instinct. But she just wasn't a fighting cat! Even in small battles with Maggie, she always lost. Her lithe body was built for running.

The next day, while her housefolk were retrieving food from their awful, smelly, huge, metallic monsters, Tanya saw her chance. She hesitated, wondering if a life in the wild was what she wanted, after all. Did she want to take her chances in the wild? Never to see Maggie again? Never to see her _housefolk_ again? But Tanya knew what she wanted.

She darted out, silent as a fish. Her housefolk never even noticed her! Clumsy, unobservant clod! Tanya silently ridiculed her housefolk in her head. _Take that, Maggie!_ she thought.

Tanya was free, and no-one was here to stop her from being wild! She would catch prey, hut mice, fight eagles-no, not fight eagles. How about_ run_ from eagles. She had seen an eagle pick up her other littermate, Max, when he was a kitten. She still had the awful experience stuck in her head. She would not want to fight off an eagle. No.

As if prophetic, Tanya heard the flapping of wings as soon as she stepped out into the open. She looked up. An eagle. She fled to the nearest bush, and prayed it wouldn't be able to catch or slice her to bits with those terrible talons. The eagle swooped by, cawing it's distress at finding no prey. Tanya shivered. Could there be anything worse for her in store? She didn't think so. What could be more dangerous than an eagle?

Sadly, Tanya was waaaaay off the mark. There were far more dangerous things for the house-cat to face. The eagle was but one of them.

Yah, I wrote this at about 12:00 at night last night, so I'm pretty tired. It's the weekend though, so I'll probably get at least three new chapters of "Tanya's Quest" up. Also, please review! I was suffering from insomnia and still am and don't know how to thank for a loverly piece of criticism/compliment-ism.

Review!!!!!!!!!!


	2. Bad luck

A gray-brown cat was hunched under a small bush. Miserable, cold, and wet, Tanya was really very uncomfortable. She had been chased away from under a boulder by a huge rat, and couldn't find a dryer place to stay that wasn't already occupied than the bush. The rainstorm had caught her unawares almost a day ago, and still hadn't stopped. Tanya was starving. She had only caught one mouse before the rainstorm, and hadn't eaten since she had begun her adventure, which had already lasted three days.

Tanya peeked out from under the bush. Darn. Still raining. A thought crossed her mind, and Tanya snickered. _I wish I was a squirrel, _she thought. _Then I'd have nuts to eat in a nice, dry hole in a tree._ But Tanya wasn't a squirrel, so she would have to bear the cold and wet. She sneezed. _Oh no… just what I need. A cold on top of all this. Great. Could this get any worse?_ As if to punctuate her words, the rain slowly turned into hail. Little balls of ice rained down on Tanya as she looked up, startled. She ran out from under the bush, yowling her fury at the sky. She pelted on for a long time, until she found a small nest made by Nofurs, covered in wood. She padded inside, wondering if there would be rats here, too. She heard scuffling in a dark corner. Tanya recoiled. If there were occupants living here, she would leave. But a small wood mouse emerged, sniffing. Tanya immediately dropped into the hunters' crouch. She could not afford to lose this one, or she'd starve. She pounced, and swiftly bit the mouse's neck, killing it instantly. Tanya carried her catch to a musty patch of sand. She sat down and devoured it quickly. Maybe some luck was coming her way, at last.

Full, content and comfortable, and slightly less grumpy, Tanya fell sound asleep on a pile of sand.

Tanya was woken by a yowling coming from far above her head. She looked up and saw a Nofur looming over her. It smelled like rotten meat and stale dirt. Tanya sprang up and backed away, snarling a warning, her ears flat on the back of her head. The Nofur crooned something, and stooped down. Tanya raised her paw menacingly, but all the smelly Nofur did was reach for her collar. It looked at the metallic tag around her neck, and spoke her name. "Tanya."

She was confused. How did it know her name? But her thoughts were cut short as the Nofur yowled something, and compared her to a white, skinny object in its paw. Tanya backed away further, hoping she could make a dash for it. But her hopes were in vain. The Nofur grabbed her and hoisted her up into the air. She turned, snarling, at its paw, clawing skin off. The Nofur let out a shout and dropped her. Its foot came up at her, and struck her so hard, spots appeared in her vision. There was a blinding pain in her ribs. Tanya tried to stand, but collapsed. The Nofur disappeared, but after a few heartbeats returned, it's paws covered in some sort of tough, brown pelt. It picked her up by her scruff, but Tanya was too weak, and in too much pain to resist this time. It carried her into a different section of the nest. Her eyes were filled with a blinding light, and the stench of Nofur scent filled her nose. She sputtered, trying to take in air, but her lungs seemed like they weren't working. After a few, shallow breaths, Tanya almost blacked out in the Nofur's paw. The Nofur looked at her with wide blue eyes. It laid her down on a white surface, and pressed her chest with its paw. Tanya gasped with the awful, sickening pain. It did this several times, until Tanya's lung popped back into place. The blinding pain lifted, to be replaced with a dull throbbing. Her eyes cleared, and she could notice three other Nofurs in the room with her. With a shock, she realized she had to get out, or these Nofurs would imprison her, like her other housefolk did before. Tanya struggled to her paws, but the strain was too much. She collapsed and fell into the dark, gaping maw of slumber.

**Cliffie! Evanescence.nut.656 still can write cliffies! Review and I will update sooner! Yaysers!**

Review!!!!!!!!!!


End file.
